


A short tale of a vampire and a mermaid

by Coldstares



Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: F/M, Merfolk AU, about how N became a vampire, and nate is nate, in which jude is a mermaid and also immortal, possible slight spoiler for book 2?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24303832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coldstares/pseuds/Coldstares
Summary: She’s not what he expected a mermaid to look like. But then, he never actually expected to meet a mermaid so there’s that.Or, the mermaid au no one asked for.Nate gets saved by a mermaid, who, years later, turns out to be the detective he's been assigned to work with.
Relationships: Detective/Nathaniel "Nate" Sewell, Female Detective/Nathaniel "Nate" Sewell
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	A short tale of a vampire and a mermaid

She’s not what he expected a mermaid to look like. But then, he never actually expected to meet a mermaid so there’s that. 

She holds him close as she takes him to the shore, strong, dark arms wrapped firmly around him. When they reach the shore she drags him out of the water and onto the sand as far as her tail allows her. 

And it is beautiful, he thinks, his mind hazy still. Long and dark blue, with lighter markings - the same shade as her eyes - and what he guesses to be tattoos.

“You will be safe here,” she says, and her voice is  _ soft, _ and  _ beautiful _ , and  _ angelic _ . “Until your people come and find you.”

“Thank you,” he rasps out, and  _ his _ voice is  _ hard _ , and  _ rough _ , and not like hers at all - and, more importantly, so unlike his own.

The mermaid smiles at him.

“There is no need to thank me, sailor.” She takes his hand and gives it a soft squeeze. “Remember, be safe.”

With that she lets go of his hand and slides back into the water. 

“Wait,” he wants to say, but it comes out more as a hoarse whisper. 

Still, she seems to hear him as she pauses and looks at him curiously.

“Yes?”

He clears his throat.

“Will you stay? Until someone comes?”

She laughs, and it sounds like waves crashing onto the beach - or, maybe how the twinkle of stars would sound like, if it made a sound at all.

“I will, sailor. But I must stay in the water while I wait with you, or I might-” she pauses, looking, it seems, for the right word. “Dry out. It would be very painful. And I would prefer to not be seen by others, when they come. It is dangerous, you understand, for a mermaid to stay on land for too long.”

He nods.

“Thank you.”

He clears his throat again and watches as the mermaid seats herself on the sand, her tail in the water still. And she watches him as well, curiosity in her eyes.

“What is your name, sailor?”

The question comes as a bit of a surprise, and he is not sure whether he should answer, but the words tumble out of his mouth anyway.

“Nathaniel Sewell. And yours?”

The mermaid’s eyes widen, and he can tell she wasn’t expecting his question just as he wasn’t expecting hers.

“You may call me Juliet.”

“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” The words leave his mouth before he has a chance to think about them. “Oh- I’m sorry.”

The mermaid - Juliet - laughs.

“Thank you, sailor. Nathaniel is a fine name as well, and it fits you.”

He smiles at her.

Juliet stays with him, sitting in the water, and talks to him. She leaves several times to catch something to eat, and to get some sleep, but she always returns.

Nathaniel, on the other hand, finds himself not needing much sleep, or much food. Instead, he sits on the beach, staring at the ocean and thinks, trying to process just what happened to him - the blood, and the hunger, and the death. He knows he isn't human anymore, but he doesn't know  _ what  _ he is now.

The Agency finds him three days later. They tell him he's a vampire, and they take him in. 

He tries looking for Juliet at first, but no one seems to know where to find her - and after a while he begins thinking that she's probably dead - he doesn't know how long merfolk live, anyway. Or maybe she was just something his delirious mind came up with to keep him from going crazy.

He finds her, three hundred years later, in a police station of a small town. And she is as beautiful as the first time he saw her - her dark, curly hair, now kept in a messy bun, her kind eyes that are as blue as the sky, the two scars on her face, and her dimples when she smiles at the sight of him.

"Juliet," he says, and it feels right, seeing her again, and feeling her name on his lips.

"Nathaniel Sewell," she replies, a soft smile turning into a grin. "I'm glad to see you're alive."

He takes her hand and places a soft kiss on top of it.

"And I'm glad to see  _ you _ ."

They're supposed to be working together now, but Nate is just happy to have found her. And he hopes she is, as well.

**Author's Note:**

> I had Nate not know what a vampire is, because the idea of vampires weren't really heard of until 18th century, and so Nate wouldn't have heard of them until he was turned into one.
> 
> Find me on tumblr @snow-grey.


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